RCN did not discriminate against Sandie Peggie, tribunal rules

A nursing union did not discriminate against nurse Sandie Peggie because of her beliefs about gender, a tribunal has ruled.

The Fife nurse had brought the legal case against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) over what she claimed was direct discrimination over her sex-realist beliefs.

Ms Peggie had accused the union had failed to adequately support her during a dispute with her employer.

She had previously brought a case against NHS Fife after sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital in December 2023.

Ms Peggie’s case against the RCN case was heard at an employment tribunal in Dundee in September and October.

In a 37-page judgment issued on Monday, employment judge Sangster said: “The judgment of the Tribunal is that the claimant’s complaints of direct discrimination do not succeed and are dismissed.”

Ms Peggie had accused the union of failing to advise her properly when she first raised the issue of having to share a changing room with Dr Upton with one of its officers.

She claimed the RCN had refused her request for legal assistance in relation to her claims against NHS Fife.

She also accused the union of failing to seek full assurances from NHS Fife in relation to its policies on single-sex spaces.

In her closing speech to the tribunal in Dundee, Ms Peggie’s lawyer Naomi Cunningham had said the RCN was the grip of “gender ideology”.

She said this made it impossible for its officers to act “vigorously” on Ms Peggie’s behalf, because of her sex-realist beliefs.

However in her judgment judge Sangster dismissed all three of Ms Peggie’s claims against the union, saying its actions towards her had not been influenced by her protected belief.

She said: “The Tribunal concluded that the complaints of direct discrimination, to the extent that they were framed as being because of an asserted belief of the respondent, could not succeed.”

A spokesperson for Ms Peggie said the judgment “makes worrying reading for all trade union members”.

“It raises serious questions about the value of trade union membership if, when members report workplace concerns, the responsibility falls on them, rather than on experienced and trained union officers supported by internal and external legal teams, to identify the correct statutory basis for potential legal claims.

“The judgment also suggests that, where a woman seeks advice from her trade union because she objects to undressing in front of a male colleague at work, the union is entitled to characterise her concerns merely as a disagreement about access to a changing room, rather than recognising them as an expression of her protected belief that a man who identifies as a woman remains a man.

“It is also disappointing that the tribunal declined to make a finding on Sandie Peggie’s contention that the RCN, as an organisation, had adopted gender ideology as an institutional belief, particularly since it had been decided at a preliminary hearing on September 22 2026 that this was a matter in dispute between the parties which needed to be determined.

“Sandie Peggie’s legal team will carefully consider the judgment before making recommendations to Sandie on any further legal steps available to her.”

An RCN spokesperson said: “The judgment is comprehensive and we welcome the decision that we did not discriminate against our member based on her protected beliefs.

“RCN staff followed agreed processes that apply to all members and we acted fairly and impartially.

“We are sorry these matters were aired before the Tribunal.

“The RCN is an anti-discrimination organisation, supporting all of its members.”